Should Sanders continue to campaign for a pro-life progressive?

[Blue3]

Apparently Sanders is getting a lot of criticism from the left (and DNC) for campaigning for a progressive Democrat in Nebraska who's pro-life

http://www.npr.org/2017/04/20/524962482/sanders-defends-campaigning-for-anti-abortion-rights-democrat

If you want to win in Nebraska, getting someone elected who's progressive on economic issues, who's progressive on criminal justice issues, who's progressive on environmentalist issues, whose only "conservative" stance is being anti-abortion (and he's not running with it on his platform as mayor, https://heathmello.com/issues/)... that's a pretty good deal, to me.

Funny how it's the DNC with a purity test on this one.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

"measure requiring doctors to inform women seeking abortions about the availability of an ultrasound"

Anything more serious than that?

[Beet]

I don't have a problem with it, but as the NPR article notes, he's "anti-abortion rights", not anti-abortion. We don't have a problem with people who are anti-abortion. Some people have purity tests on some issues but not others... I, personally, have no purity tests at all, at least for local races. I've always advocated for moderation.

[Cashew]

And people laughed when I said local Democrats in red states would be better off if the national party cut off ties instead of sabotaging them with these cultural purity tests.

[Deblano]

I hate to use the "both sides" argument, but both parties gets insufferably purist on the topic of abortion.

However, back when I used to call myself a Republican, I felt more comfortable calling myself a pro-choice then I hypothetically would have felt calling myself a pro-life Democrat.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

If you folks have any ambition of promoting an ideology of community as opposed to yet another "liberal capitalism lite", then yes.

[Antonio the Sixth]

In Nebraska, yeah, that makes perfect sense in strategic terms.

[The_Doctor]

Sanders doesn't care about social issues as much as he cares about electing progressives of all stripes. He knows that it's going to take a big coalition to get his agenda passed.

Bernie can be really stupid at times, strategically, but sometimes, he's quite smart. the stupidity is on Jon Ossoff, who he took a long time to endorse, and other times, he's smart enough to focus on the pocketbook issues.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I'll just LOL if there are John Bel Edwards fans attacking him for this.

[Dr. Arch]

In Nebraska, yeah, that makes perfect sense in strategic terms.

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

Yes. In fact we need to bring social conservatives into the party en masse, in particular on gun issues but abortion is good too.

[Technocracy Timmy]

Social issues are regional and divisive in nature so I'm not surprised by this.

Yes he should campaign for him.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Yes. In fact we need to bring social conservatives into the party en masse, in particular on gun issues but abortion is good too.

To be fair the Democratic Party has millions of social conservatives who are loyal voters.  If it wasn't for the Southern Strategy they might mostly be Republicans now.

[Zioneer]

If he wants to. Nobody's stopping him.

And speaking as a Utah Democrat, I feel like backing away from big-tent candidates like Mello is self-defeating. The way you win in red states is getting candidates with unorthodox views. In some states, it's pro-gun Dems, in others it's anti-abortion Dems. In Utah, it's Democrats who appeal to Mormons.

[Shadows]

Isn't Tim Kaine & Joe Manchin pro-life as well? By this logic, Dems should abandon them as well. I am not even sure if this guy qualifies to be pro-life, he is probably somewhere between a pro-life & a pro-choice. If this guy was in the Senate, he would be a reliable Democrat vote for the Supreme Court for liberal justices.

If Nebraska, you have a super progressive candidate, but Sanders' should abandon him because he is not 100% pro-choice? This would essentially mean surrendering most parts to the GOP & severely damaging economic progressive ideas !

[Shadows]

MSNBC's "Morning Joe" panel ripped the Democratic Party's left flank for abandoning an Omaha, Nebraska, mayoral candidate with a mixed record on abortion rights, calling it "stupid," "splintered," and "autocratic." NARAL Pro-Choice America roasted the DNC as "politically stupid" for backing a candidate who will "strip women … of our basic rights." Daily Kos withdrew its endorsement of Mello for his views violating the site's "deepest values."Liberal pundit Joan Walsh trashed Sanders for giving Mello his support but not offering it to Georgia congressional candidate Jon Ossoff.

"He agreed to a bill that said a doctor could tell a woman she had a right to have an ultrasound, and for that, they're blowing up the party?" he asked. "These are not people that want to be in charge of the House and the Senate again."Scarborough said some in the party's behavior was "short-sighted" and "stupid," comparing it to a hypothetical pro-choice Republican not getting support from the party in New England. Historian Jon Meacham relayed his experience growing up in Tennessee and how Democrats used to dominate the state's congressional delegation. Now, Republicans have statewide control, he said, due to Democrats having "autocratic" standards for candidates.

Liberal Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said the Democratic Party's problem right now was simply being too small."If it's going to recover, it's going to do it by getting bigger and it's going to make a bigger tent, so that means a 50-state strategy," he said. "It's certainly a lot more than the sort of bicoastal strategy that it has now, so it's going to have to accommodate different views or at least nuances of views." "This requirement for 100 percent purity is a recipe to be a coastal minority party," said co-host Willie Geist. "If you're not willing to, on this one sliver of an issue, allow a little leeway for somebody who might be able to win and put a Democrat in that seat, you're not going to win across the country."

Amidst the flurry of anger against his candidacy from the left, Mello told the Huffington Post he would not do anything in office to restrict "reproductive health care."

Full Article - ://freebeacon.com/issues/morning-joe-democratic-stupid-abandonment-omaha-mayoral-candidate-abortion-record/

[Ronnie]

I normally roll my eyes at Scarborough's histrionics, but he's absolutely right on this one.  The Democratic Party is a big tent party, so it will naturally have differences across regions, particularly on cultural issues such as abortion, but also on economics (which is where I disagree with Bernie).  The same goes for the GOP.  Factions within the Democratic party have to learn to coexist, or else there is a real risk that it will be consigned to represent the coasts and not much more.

[Beet]

I normally roll my eyes at Scarborough's histrionics, but he's absolutely right on this one.  The Democratic Party is a big tent party, so it will naturally have differences across regions, particularly on cultural issues such as abortion, but also on economics (which is where I disagree with Bernie).  The same goes for the GOP.  Factions within the Democratic party have to learn to coexist, or else there is a real risk that it will be consigned to represent the coasts and not much more.

Yeah, being a big tent party is a two-way street, too. If someone like Ossoff who's running in Tom Price's district wants to be a fiscal conservative, he should be able to, and Democrats should be okay supporting that as well. It's not just for social issues like abortion rights or gun regulation. It depends on the district.

[JA]

Sometimes party purists just need to shut the hell up. You can't have a San Francisco Democrat running in Nebraska, for God's sake. I'm pretty staunchly pro-choice, but if Nebraskans are largely pro-life then it only makes sense for the Democrat to represent their interests and values, not those of people thousands of miles away.

[DrScholl]

He can do what he wants. With that said, I doubt the incumbent will lose.

[Hammy]

Yes. In fact we need to bring social conservatives into the party en masse, in particular on gun issues but abortion is good too.

Great way to break the Democratic Party into two separate ones and insure permanent Republican rule.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yes. In fact we need to bring social conservatives into the party en masse, in particular on gun issues but abortion is good too.

Great way to break the Democratic Party into two separate ones and insure permanent Republican rule.

Because this current "anything goes on economic policies but DON'T YOU DARE oppose abortion or gay marriage" attitude is working so well for Democrats right now.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Yes. In fact we need to bring social conservatives into the party en masse, in particular on gun issues but abortion is good too.

Great way to break the Democratic Party into two separate ones and insure permanent Republican rule.

*ensure

[Zioneer]

I normally roll my eyes at Scarborough's histrionics, but he's absolutely right on this one.  The Democratic Party is a big tent party, so it will naturally have differences across regions, particularly on cultural issues such as abortion, but also on economics (which is where I disagree with Bernie).  The same goes for the GOP.  Factions within the Democratic party have to learn to coexist, or else there is a real risk that it will be consigned to represent the coasts and not much more.

Sometimes party purists just need to shut the hell up. You can't have a San Francisco Democrat running in Nebraska, for God's sake. I'm pretty staunchly pro-choice, but if Nebraskans are largely pro-life then it only makes sense for the Democrat to represent their interests and values, not those of people thousands of miles away.

Exactly right on both of these. Many Utah Democrats are party purists and it's got us... a super-super minority in the state legislature, no Congressional seats, no gubernatorial win in 30 years, no Senate win in 40 years, and so on and so on. They think they're San Francisco Dems (some with an anti-Mormon attitude) in one of the reddest states in the nation.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

If he's good on everything else, I'll take a hit on one issue. Especially if it's an issue he'll have no power over whatsoever as Omaha mayor.